Delta delays purchase of new planes, GE engines

While other air carriers are ordering more than 3,000 of the next generation of jets, Delta Air Lines is refusing to place an order, Reuters reports.

Delta CEO Richard Anderson said his company will wait until the newest models, including the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo, have worked out the kinks and been altered to carry more passengers.

Delta’s strategy is to purchase planes later in the production cycle to allow more time for technical problems to be solved. Anderson said the air carrier would rather watch competitors fly the new 737 MAX, which contains an engine created by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and France’s Safran, before it alters an order with Boeing.

Delta (NYSE: DAL) is the dominant carrier at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and employs 9,000 people in Minnesota.